No Day But Today
by darkrunner
Summary: There are 8. Yugi, a filmmaker. Jounouchi, a musician living for himself. Mai, a dancer living for the moment. Kaiba, the landlord. Anzu, a flirty performer. Ishizu, a lawyer. Atem, an anarchist and genius. And Ryou, who shows them love. RENT
1. Prologue: Seasons of Love

A/N: RENT world, Yugioh characters. My fic "I'll Cover You" was also RENT/YGO, but the casting was different. That fic is distantly connected to this one, but it is not a companion fic.  
Because of songfic rules, I can't use song lyrics. That gets very bothersome when they tell most of the story in song lyrics. I tried my best to keep the feel of Seasons of Love, but no matter what I did, it was waaaay too serious. Oh well. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Neither RENT nor Yugioh belong to me.  
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Eight spotlights rise on an empty stage. Eight people step foward into those spotlights, five men and three women. They stand facing an empty audience and a dark house. Even though no one is watching, they stand tall and look into the empty seats.  
Because that audience is no longer empty. They look at you, and begin.

From left to right, they say their names.

"Yugi."

"Ryou."

"Ishizu."

"Katsuya."

"Atem."

"Anzu."

"Seto."

"Mai"

"We live in the East Side of New York. This is our story of a year in our lives," Yugi tells you.

"You can choose to hear the story," Ishizu says.

"Or not," Seto says. "That's up to you."

"But we're telling you this so you can learn from us," Mai says.

"So you won't make our mistakes," Jounouchi says, glancing at Mai.

"And so you'll understand... what can happen in a year," Atem says.

"It's not just 12 months, or 365 days..." Seto says.

"It's part of a person's life." Anzu says.

"Don't measure it by how long it is," Ryou says.

"Measure by how you lived it."

"Measure in hope,"

"Friendships," Yugi says. As he speaks, the others begin to say their own ways to measure their lives. They all say different words, but they are all trying to tell you the same thing. Amid the din of eight overlapping voices, you pick out a distinct few.

"Trust."

"Faith."

"Pain."

"Desisions."

"Mistakes."

"Chances."

"Truth."

"Lies."

"Life."

"Death."

"Love."

The voices stop, and the last word rings out across the theater. Ah, they have found the right word.  
Because that is what this story is about. Love. Love between friends. Love between siblings. And another love that can no longer be defined by gender. There is no bounds to the love people can share. It is not something that is so easily restricted to two people of opposite sex. No matter what we do, it can't be controlled, can't be stopped, can't be wrong. It works the other way, though. Love can't be forced, can't be created, but it is always right. No one has the right or power to stop two--or eight--people from loving. To love is to live. Not even death can stop it.  
These eight people stand before you, ready to tell you their story of love. Will you listen?

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A/N: That was my attempt to be all abstract and stuff. It didn't work very well, but they don't advance the plot at all in that song, so there wasn't much I could do. The rest of the story will be told in the past tense (I don't know WHAT possesed me to go in the present.) and will go like a normal story, where the characters can't see the audience, and things like that. I will write the entire show of RENT, even if it takes me ten years. (I'm hoping no more than one year... we'll see...) The characters have been set. I thought I'd wait till next chapter to post them, but if you really want to know now, let me know and I'll tell you. Read and review. The more reviews, the faster the update.


	2. Rent

A/N: And so, our story begins. As promised, here is the cast:  
Roger is Jounouchi, Mark is Yugi, Mimi is Mai, Benny is Kaiba, Collins is Atem, Maureen is Anzu, Joanne is Ishizu, Angel is Ryou. Angel was the hardest. I picked Ryou for a couple reasons. First, he fits Angel's character fairly well. Two, Ryou was supposed to be a main character in the manga and anime, but got thrown into the background. He deserves to be a main character. 

Pairings this chapter: None. Well... tinyslighthintedimpliedifyousquint polar.

"How do you leave the past behind when it keeps finding ways to get to your heart? It reaches way down deep and tears you inside out, 'til you're torn apart! RENT! How can you connect in an age where strangers, landlords, lovers, your own blood cells betray? What binds a fabric together when the raging, shifting winds of change keep ripping away"  
--Mark and Roger, "Rent" by Jonathan Larson.

Beta-read by pyro crazed gel. (Thanks, AM!)

Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi owns Yugioh. Jonathan Larson, requem in pacem, owns RENT. I am neither of them.  
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Wind was blowing through the streets on a cold December night. Despite the weather, Yugi Mutou was standing alone on a New York street corner, holding a video camera. Not the best of places to be alone, but Yugi had lived in New York for all his life, and could handle himself. He turned slowly, panning up and down the street. As he filmed, he dictated to the camera.

"It's Christmas Eve. I've been filming for months, but nothing's been coming out the way I want it to. So I threw out the script. We'll see what comes of it," he sighed. Shivering, Yugi turned the camera off, and stuck it in his bag. He grabbed his bike, which was leaning against a nearby building, threw his leg over it, and started down the street. His apartment was only a few blocks down. He rode quickly, wanting very much to get out of the cold.

He turned down Avenue A, and stopped in front of one of many rundown apartment buildings. Home.  
Hauling his bike up the steps, Yugi fished a key out of his pocket.

"Hey!" Someone called to him before he could go in. Yugi turned around. There was a middle-aged man in the street, holding a piece of paper. Yugi wondered what it was.

"You there!" The man said to Yugi. "You live in that building?"

"Yeah," Yugi said tenatively.

"Well, you're not anymore." The man--most likely homeless--hobbled over to Yugi and offered him the paper. The filmmaker took it, squinting to read in the dim light. He muttered angrily, and walked over to a lamppost. Once under the light, he scanned over the document. His eyes widened in shock. Quickly, he reread it, in the vain hope that he had misunderstood or that the paper would magically change its message. The paper was not magical, however, and it stayed exactly the same. Most of it was meaningless drivel, but there were two very important words at the top. EVICTION NOTICE.

Yugi was glanced around to see if anything was posted on the other apartments on his block. In his haste to return home, he hadn't paid attention, but now that he looked, there were, and not just on the doors, but telephone poles, walls, and fences. There were other tenants discovering the notices, now. Yugi grabbed his stuff and stormed into the building. He left the bike by the door and bounded up the unlit steps.

In their roomy, but very cold studio apartment, Katsuya Jounouchi was lying on an old dully colored couch. He had a guitar in his hands, and was strumming on it halfheartedly. Sighing, he sat up and put it down on the table in front of him.

"It's no use," he mumbled, picking the case up off the floor. As he was placing the guitar in it, the lights flickered, then shut off. Jounouchi sighed again. Just what they needed. He latched the guitar case and set it back down. At the same time, he heard the front door of the building slam. There was a moment's pause, then someone started running up the steps. Jounouchi didn't think it was his roommate, and flopped back down on the couch. Apparently, he was wrong, because his door started opening.

"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi called. Jounouchi heard the anger in his friend's voice, and wondered what had happened. He looked up when Yugi came in.

"Have you seen this?" Yugi said angrily, tossing the paper to Jounouchi. The blond snagged the notice and uncrumpled it. He glanced at it, and quickly sat up.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed. "Evicted?! Kaiba, that bastard!"

"It's not just us," Yugi said. "These things were posted all over the block."

"No wonder the power's out--He wants us to pay for the whole year! We don't have that kind of money!" Jounouchi said angrily. "He thinks he's so much better, just because he's not stuck in this frozen hellhole... we could've done that, too, you know!" he shouted to no one in particular. Jounouchi crossed the room and tore a poster off the wall. There was an old metal drum in the corner of the room that they used to start fires in when the heat wasn't enough. Angrily, Jou wadded up the poster, and threw it in.

"That bastard, he thinks he'll cut off the power, and after a night of nearly freezing to death, he'll come to the rescue and turn it back on," Jounouchi grabbed the metal drum and dragged it to the center of the room. Yugi pulled a pack of matches out of his pocket. He snapped one off, struck it, and held it to the eviction notice. The paper smoked and quickly caught flame. The filmmaker dropped the burning mess into the metal bin.

"Well guess what, rich boy?!" Jounouchi yelled, as he grabbed more paper. He was about to throw it in, but paused and looked down into the bin briefly as his face melted off the poster. "We don't give a damn!" He shoved the paper in, and it ignited.

"We've got plenty to burn!" Yugi added a thick stack of papers--a screenplay--to the fire. "We don't need you anymore!"

"You want money, go get it somewhere else! You're not getting anything from us!" Jounouchi roared. He grabbed one of the other eviction notices that Yugi had brought in. He touched a corner of the paper into the flaming metal bin. It flared up and started to burn. Jounouchi ran out onto the balcony--which was really just a rusty fire escape--and held it up the cold December sky. Around him, people in the other buildings were doing similar things. There was a couple across the street ripping theirs up into tiny pieces and letting them blow away like snow. Next door, a man crumpled his into a ball and hurled it out into the street. On the sidewalk, there were people braving the frigid night to tear down the signs plastered on telephone poles and buldings.

"Are we going to pay?!" Jounouchi shouted, holding up the makeshift torch. Yugi joined him out on the fire escape.

"No!" Yugi responded. He turned out to the people in the street. There were many more than when he came in--dozens more. All were holding or destroying eviction notices.

"Are you going to pay?!" Yugi shouted to the crowd, who had heard Jounouchi's yell and were looking up at the pair.

"No!" They answered. "We won't pay!" One person yelled. "No rent! No rent!" They kept repeating. Slowly, the crowd started to pick up the chant.

"Whoa," Jounouchi said. The crowd's unexpected enthusiasm dulled his rage. The angry tenants continued shouting, and came together in the middle of the street. A lone figure was left on the sidewalk. He waved to the two bohemians on their fire escape.

"Hey! Yugi-kun! Jounouchi-kun! Down here!"

Yugi stopped shouting and they both looked down at their friend.

"Atem-kun!" Yugi called happily. "You're back."

Atem, clad in a heavy coat, unlike many of the now-evicted protesters, was standing below the apartment. He grinned at his friends. "Yep. Throw me the keys, would you?"

Yugi fished the keys out of his pocket and tossed them into the street. They clattered at Atem's feet, and he bent down to pick them up.

At the same moment, a large green Range Rover pulled onto Avenue A. Yugi and Jounouchi looked up. The crowd shouted angrily and ran towards it, still chanting.

"Kaiba," Jounouchi spat.

Seto Kaiba stopped his car. The angry crowd swarmed around it, but didn't actually touch it. As much as they hated Kaiba, they were still subconciously afraid and awed by his status. He glared at the mob of people, thoroughly annoyed. Looking up to the apartment building, he pointed to Yugi and Jounouchi, then down to their door. _Get down here. I need to talk to you._ Then he shot a few more evil glances at the crowd, just to make sure that no one would touch his car.

"Stupid rich jerk..." Jounouchi muttered. "Acting like he's better than us, after all we've been through..."

"Come on," Yugi sighed. "We'd better talk to him." The short filmmaker turned and went back into the apartment. Jounouchi paused a moment, vainly trying to put off the meeting with Kaiba. As he glanced down at the crowd, something caught his eye. He peered down through the bars of the fire escape. There was a woman on her own fire escape a floor below, holding a burning eviction notice. She was trying to light her cigarette with it. She suceeded, and tossed the flaming paper out, where it floated down to the street. Jounouchi watched her give a half-wave to a white-haired youth in the crowd, and was about to go in, when the the woman looked up at him.

Jounouchi got a good look at her face as their eyes met. She smiled, and he was suddenly flooded with memories. He tried to smile back, but all he achieved was a vauge, slightly confused look. Quickly, he left the fire escape and headed down the stairs after his roommate.

A/N: Just so you know, I don't condone smoking. It just seemed like a funny thing to light a cigarette with.  
Next chapter: Yugi and Jou talk with Kaiba, and backstory on the three of them. Atem gets into a tight spot, and Ryou is introduced. If you liked, tell me why. If you didn't like, tell me why. If you didn't read, go back and read it, then decide if you liked it or not, and tell me why. I'm not going to know what you like unless you review. Concrit is loved. Thank you, and stay tuned for next chapter!


	3. You'll See

A/N: I recently discovered that there are several other YGO/RENT crossovers on here. While I am not the first to have the idea, I AM the first to not use the song lyrics, which I am somewhat proud of.

I know I promised Ryou this chapter, but... uh... he was sick! Yeah... sick... Anyway, he'll show up next chapter.

Pairings this chapter: Mentioned Peach, Myst, and Silent.

Last chapter: Yugi, a filmmaker, and Jounouchi, a musician, are roommates in New York. Kaiba, the owner, is evicting them. Atem shows up briefly, then mysteriously disappears, and there's an interesting woman a floor below Yugi and Jou's apartment. After a brief protest in the street, Yugi and Jou are about to talk to Kaiba.

"Next door the home of CyberArts, you see, and now that the block is rezoned, our dream can become a reality! You'll see, boys"  
--"You'll See" by Jonathan Larson

Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi owns Yugioh. Jonathan Larson, requem in pacem, owns RENT. I am neither of them.  
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"What do you want, Kaiba?" Jounouchi spat. He and Yugi were down on the sidewalk outside of their building. Kaiba had just strolled up, wanting to talk with them about the eviction.

"Is that how you greet to an old friend?" Kaiba said sarcastically.

Yugi bent over to pick up an eviction notice from the ground. "We should be asking you that," he said, brandishing the notice at Kaiba.

Kaiba's face darkened. "You owe a YEAR of rent."

"What happened to your promise to let us live for free?!" Jou yelled.

"You two are still so naive," Kaiba said angrily. "Nothing is free in this world!"

"Except empty promises," Jou muttered so Kaiba couldn't hear.

"Is that why you ditched us?" Yugi asked, ignoring Jou.

"Ah, that's right," Kaiba said, "You, this one--" he jerked his head at Jounouchi "--Atem, Anzu and myself were roommates in this hellhole of a city. How are you all? Atem, I've heard, is teaching at NYU. You two are obviously not doing too well, but what of Anzu?" Kaiba looked at Yugi. "How's her performing?"

"No idea," Yugi said icily. "Ask her new manager."

Kaiba slightly cocked his head. "New? She dumped you?"

Yugi averted his gaze angrily. "No," he muttered.

Kaiba gave a forced, cold bark of laughter. "What's his name?"

Jounouchi looked at his friend sympathetically, knowing better than to answer. Yugi didn't look at either of them. "Ishizu."

Kaiba was caught off-guard and stared disbelievingly at Yugi, then at Jounouchi, and back at the poor filmmaker. He laughed again, not forced, and less cold, but much louder.

"Not much luck with women, you two," Kaiba said. "Yugi, you were dumped for a girl. Jou, you're coming off a year of rehab, and _your_ girl would rather die than be with you--"

Kaiba's insult was suddenly cut off. Jounouchi snarled and jumped at his former roommate. One hand was clenched around the lapel of Kaiba's coat, the other was pulled back, ready to smash into Kaiba's face.

"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi shouted. Jounouchi blinked and stopped. Kaiba kept his composure, but was somewhat shaken at Jou's passionate response.

"Never," Jounouchi's voice was barely above a whisper, and it was shaking with rage. "Mention her again." He roughly shoved Kaiba away. "NEVER!" He roared. Turning quickly, he went back into the building. The door slammed heavily behind him.

Yugi and Kaiba stood in tense silence for a moment.

"You went too far, Kaiba-kun," Yugi said.

"Hmm," Kaiba growled, staring at the door. "It's been a year... I didn't think he would still..."

"How would you feel if Shizuka-chan did that to you?" Yugi pointed out. Kaiba's attention snapped back to Yugi.

"Enough of this," he said. "I came here to make you an offer. I would've preferred Jou be here to hear it for himself, so he can't claim I never offered and sue me..."

"Good idea," Yugi said under his breath, but he was joking. As far apart as they had grown over the last couple years, they had all been great friends. Although Kaiba's stab at Jou HAD been below the belt.

"But I trust you enough to tell him," Kaiba continued. "You know about Anzu's protest?" Yugi almost rolled his eyes. Even though he may have caused her to change her sexual preference, he was still good friends with Anzu. Of course he knew about her protest. He guessed that most of "Tent City" knew. Anyone who didn't, they certainly would now that Kaiba was evicting them.

Anzu had some talent as a dancer and singer, enough to live off of, anyway. A group of men--Kaiba included--had been trying to buy and rezone the land in on Avenue A to build a performing and visual arts studio for almost a year. The block had been rezoned, and the owner--for a fee--had signed the buildings over to Kaiba. The only thing left was to get the people out and build the thing.

The problem was, just down the street was a vacant lot where most of the East Side's homeless lived. Anzu, who used to live in the very same apartment that Yugi and Jounouchi were living in now, wouldn't stand for Kaiba trying to remove them all. Tomorrow, Christmas, she was going to hold a peaceful protest in Alphabet City--the nickname for their part of the East Side, so named because of the lettered street names.

"What about the protest?" Yugi asked.

"You're going to cancel it."

"What?!" Yugi exclaimed disbelievingly. "No!"

"Yes," Kaiba said. "You stop the protest; I'll cancel this year's rent, and let you and Jounouchi stay here for free."

"Stay here for what, three months until you tear it down?"

"No. Stay in the studio. Don't you understand?" Kaiba said. "If this thing gets built, we can actually do those things we all said we'd do. You can make your movies, and Jounouchi can play his guitar--"

"We can do that now, too," Yugi cut in.

"Heh. Yeah, for fun. But you can actually get PAID. With money. You know, that green stuff with pictures of dead presidents that you never have." Kaiba couldn't help poking fun at the poor filmmaker.

"No," Yugi said firmly.

"Yugi--" Kaiba started.

"_No,_ Kaiba-kun."

The two men stared each other down, neither willing to give in. Kaiba dearly wanted to continue to argue on the behalf of his studio. It had been his dream. All of their dreams, really, but he was the only one willing to see it through. If they would just listen to him! Anzu was a fool to protest. So they have to kick a few people out of their apartments, move a few homeless people. What's the big deal? The ones in the apartments aren't paying. Homeless people, as their name implies, have no home. A few people are unhappy, but there's always going to be someone hurt or unhappy. With this virtual, state-of-the-art, digital, interactive studio (Kaiba took great pleasure coming up with new ways to describe the studio) Yugi really could make his movies, Jou could write songs, Anzu could dance or sing or whatever the hell she felt like doing at the time. Atem could... well, he was pretty well off, being a genius and all. There was a slight problem holding jobs, though. He could have a place to come to when he got fired for being a political radical.

Instead, they would all rather live starving and freezing, on the street, if it came to that. The fools, they refused to be a part of his--their--dream. Not a one of them understood that this was what they had been dreaming of. They were blinded by the fancy suits and the eviction notices. Didn't they get it? Kaiba was trying to help them! And if he happened to get a good business started and make some money, that was a bonus.

But as he opened his mouth to argue, he could see that it would be pointless. First of all, even if he tried to deny it, Yugi still cared for Anzu. Kaiba could have been talking him into stopping her from kidnapping puppies, and the loyal filmmaker still would have refused.

And deep down, Yugi probably knew that the studio could save them. But he didn't want saving, not from Kaiba. Not from someone that sold out, cut throats, and made money. Kaiba was the mainstream, the successful, the embodiment of corporate America. Yugi and Jounouchi were the starving artists, trying to live on their own mettle. For them to accept help from Kaiba would be to become the one of ithem/i.

Not to mention that they would be hated by the entire population of Alphabet city.

Yugi stared down Kaiba, and for once in his life, the businessman held his tongue. To argue with Yugi now would be an insult to him. He would never give in, no matter how much it would make sense to.

Kaiba inwardly sighed, and said, "Fine."

"N--wha?"

Kaiba gritted his teeth. He would not say it again. "My offer stands. You have one day."

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Many minutes ago, before Yugi and Jounouchi came down from the apartment, a certain friendly Egyptian teacher was standing on the street.

"Throw down the keys!" Atem called to his friend.

Yugi obliged, tossing them off the fire escape, where they clattered to the ground.

As Atem bent down to pick them up, Yugi and Jounouchi were distracted by Kaiba's arrival. So they didn't see what happened next.

"Hey, got a light?" a gruff voice said. Atem grabbed the keys, and looked up. There were a three men standing in the shadows of the building. The one who spoke stepped forward slowly. He had an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

"Sure," Atem said amiably. The men were unshaven and poorly clothed. He figured they were homeless, part of the "Tent City" in the vacant lot down the street. The least he could do for them was light a smoke.

"Hold on..." he pulled his pack off of his back and started digging through it. Suddenly, all three men charged forward. Atem's eyes widened as he jumped up and took off down the street. Damn, for a genius and anarchist, he sure was gullible. They were just trying to mug him. He cut into an alley next to the building, running as fast as he could. The light was poor; he toppled a trash can to try and stop them. Hopefully they wouldn't see it. He heard a crash, and guessed that it worked. Atem slowed down, because of fatigue and relief both.

The relief was short-lived. He heard a yell and a thud, like someone had jumped the can. Then Atem was tackled suddenly, by the first man. He struggled, wildly throwing punches. The thug struggled with him, but he was more experienced. Dodging the punches was simple, and he easily gained the upper hand. With a practiced hand, he hit Atem in the face. Atem relinquished his grip on the bag, and the punk snatched it from him. Having been caught by his would-be victims before, the mugger sprang backwards, out of reach, with his prize. Wearily, the Egyptian tried to grab it from his attacker. One of the other men appeared and kicked him in the chest, knocking the breath out of him. He fell back on the ground, wheezing, as the third man stripped him of his coat. One of them--Atem was too dizzy to tell which one--kicked him again, then the three ran off down the street.  
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A/N: Just to clear things up:  
East Side: Area of NYC they live in  
Alpabet City: Area of the East Side they live in  
Tent City: The vacant lot where all the homeless people live

Next chapter: Backstory on Jou. Why would his girl as Kaiba said, rather die than be with him? And yes, Ryou really will show up.


	4. One Song Glory

A/N: AZT is medicine for HIV/AIDS.

I apologize if Miho is OOC. She has literally ONE LINE in the entire manga. Not much for me to base a character on. April has about a minute of screen time, and no lines. I think I gravitated more towards April than Miho, because we need April's characteristics to move the story forward. Also, I'd like to apologize to the person I said could beta the Ryou part. I had trouble writing, and didn't finish until last night, at which time I sent it to my main beta. I got it back today, and I didn't have any more time to wait for another beta-read.

I'd like to thank all my reviewers, readers, and my wonderful beta-reader, pyrocrazedgel! Thanks, minna-sama!!

Pairings this chapter: Slip and Fragile

Last chapter: Kaiba talks to Yugi and Jou. He says something about Jou's previous girlfriend, Jou gets mad and leaves. Kaiba then offers Yugi the chance to live in the upcoming CyberArts studio rent-free, if he can stop Anzu's protest. Yugi refuses. Then, on the way to meet Yugi and Jou, Atem gets mugged, beaten, and left in an alley.

Rated T for language, drug references, a bit of suggestive whatnot, and suicide.

"Find one song, a song about love, glory, from the soul of a young man. Find the one song before the virus takes hold, glory, like a sunset. One song to redeem this empty life."  
--Roger, "One Song Glory" by Jonathan Larson

Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi owns Yugioh. Jonathan Larson, requem in pacem, owns RENT. I am neither of them.  
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Yugi returned to the loft to find Jounouchi lying on the couch again. His arm was covering his face, so Yugi thought he was asleep. The filmmaker closed the door quietly and walked past him.

"What did he want?" Jounouchi asked quietly. Yugi, surprised, jumped a little. Jounouchi sat up and looked at Yugi expectantly.

"He said if stopped Anzu's protest, he'd let us live here for free."

Jou scoffed. "Just like we could live free_ this_ year..."

"Yeah," Yugi said. "I told him no."

Jounouchi nodded, but kept his eyes down.

"Jounouchi-kun..." Yugi said hesitantly. "What Kaiba-kun said... about Miho-chan..."

"I know," Jou said in a hollow voice. "I shouldn't have tried to hit him. Just... I don't want to talk about it anymore, that's all. And I was already pretty pissed at him..."

"He was over the line," Yugi replied.

"But he was right." Jounouchi said. "Miho... didn't want to live... with me..."

"It wasn't you!" Yugi protested. "She was just afraid of--"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Jounouchi cut in angrily. Yugi stopped, looking slightly hurt. "I..." Jounouchi sighed. "Sorry, it's not you, Yugi. I just... just leave it alone. I'm fine."

"Well..." Yugi started. Jounouchi wasn't 'fine'--he hadn't been 'fine' for over a year--but Yugi didn't want to keep arguing. "If you say so." He drifted back towards the door. "I'm going out for a bit. Gonna look for Atem-kun." He threw a scarf on. "Want to come? We could all get something to eat afterwards."

Jounouchi laid back down on the couch. "With what money?"

"...good point." Yugi stepped lightly across the room and pulled the door open. "Don't forget to take your AZT," he said over his shoulder. Then he was gone.

The musician glanced at the bottle of pills on the table. "Right," he sighed. Damn AIDS. The bottle rattled as he grabbed it. Twisting the cap, he popped a white pill out, swallowed it, and recapped the bottle. He leaned over to put it back on the table, but it slipped and fell out of his hand. It clattered on the cold floor and rolled under the table, out of sight. Jounouchi grumbled, and got up from the couch to retrieve it.

He found it resting against his guitar case. He bent, picked it up. Absentmindedly, he stared at the bottle in his hand.

_Miho..._

Jounouchi pulled his jacket tighter as he stared into the clear winter sky. He had stood blankly in the apartment, trying to repress memories of Miho for as long as he could. When he couldn't take it any longer, he slipped out and climbed up to the roof. He did this whenever he was stuck on a song or needed to clear his head, but it wasn't helping much tonight. His breath fogged up the air in front of him, smoke over the New York skyline. It shimmered in the moonlight, brilliantly. Then it dimmed, faded, vanished away into nothingness, leaving only the cold black sky of his life.

"I just want one song..." Jounouchi whispered. "If I have to go, let me go with one thing to my name... with one last blaze of glory... before I die... like you, Miho."

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_"Um... excuse me... just wanted to say, you were really good."_

_Jounouchi looked up from where he was packing his guitar. He was in a small coffeeshop, having just finished a set. The place was empty, save for the staff, Jounouchi, and this girl. Jou looked her up and down. She was beautiful, with pale blue hair and light eyes. He glanced over his shoulder, checking for someone else._

_"You talking to me?" he asked her._

_"You were the singer for No Vacancy?" she said. He nodded. "Then yes."_

_"Thanks," he said, and turned back to his guitar. When he looked up again, the girl was still there. "Um... is there something else...?"_

_She blushed. "Well... that is... I was just wondering... are you doing anything right now?"_

_"You have something in mind?" Jounouchi asked._

_"There's a nice place a few blocks down--the Life Café. If you wanted to get a cup of coffee or something..." she said nervously. Jou hesitated. He hadn't been with a girl in a while, and he didn't know how to handle himself. It had been a long night, he really didn't feel like talking to anyone else--and then she smiled at him._

_"Sure," he said, smiling back.  
---_

_"So, how long have you been in a band?" she asked Jounouchi conversationally. After a quick stop at his apartment to drop off his guitar, they walked over to the Life Café They'd ordered coffee and made small talk for a few minutes._

_"No Vacancy, a few years," he said. "Been in and out of others since I was 16."_

_"How come?"_

_"I'm just good at it, I guess," he said._

_"No, how come you stuck with No Vacancy when you left all the others?"_

_"Well, I'm the lead guy..." he said with a touch of pride._

_"So you weren't lead in the other bands?"_

_"Nah, they just pulled me in for a backup or something," Jou answered. "Made enough money not to starve, though."_

_"And now?"_

_"Well, considering my buddy owns the apartment and I don't have to pay, pretty good."_

_"Wow. Think I could get in on that?" she joked._

_Jounouchi laughed. Miho smiled and looked at him tenderly, but he kept his eyes down towards the table. She lowered her voice a bit, and continued._

_"Maybe it's not my place to say anything, but you look a bit... lonely... for being that well off."_

_Jou shifted uncomfortably, still with his head down. "Yeah, well... it's not as fun as it used to be... more like work, to be honest. It's hard and boring. My roomates are cool, but... they're always off doing their own thing, so I can't really talk to them about it."_

_"You want something more, right?" Miho asked him._

_"Yeah," Jounouchi agreed._

_"I think I know what you need"  
---_

_"Miho... are you sure about this?" Jounouchi asked nervously. The beautiful light-haired girl was pressed against him, kissing him passionately._

_"Don't you trust me, Katsuya?" she asked._

_"You know I do," he said. She smiled her beautiful smile, and his heart melted. They kissed again, and again. Jounouchi felt something being pressed into his hand._

_"Ready?" she asked breathily, pulling back. Jou opened his hand. A needle._

_"Let's go," he said.  
---_

_"Katsuya?" Miho asked when Jounouchi entered the apartment. She was lying on an old couch, shivering. "Did you get it?"_

_"Yeah," he said, going to the back of the room to get a needle. "Hold on."_

_He retrieved a needle and returned to Miho. She was trying to tie a tourniquet around her arm with one trembling hand. Without a word, Jounouchi knelt down, and tied it for her. He offered the needle, which she took desperately. She moaned softly as the heroin entereted her body. Slowly, she took the needle out, and laid back down. Gradually, she stopped shivering, and her breathing slowed._

_"You okay?" he murmured._

_She nodded sleepily. "Yeah. Here." She smiled and offered him the needle. He hesitated ever so slightly, and accpeted it. She pulled the tourniquet off her arm and handed it to him.  
---_

_"No!" Miho sobbed, holding a letter. They were standing in the waiting room of a doctor's office. Jounouchi felt a weight drop in his chest. Miho threw herself on him and cried into his shoulder._

_"No..." he said disbelievingly. "You... Miho..."_

_"Both of us," she cried. "Oh god, Katsuya, we're... we're going to--"_

_"Don't say it," he said in a choked voice, putting his arms around her. "It'll be okay. They have medicine for this. We'll be okay..."_

_But Miho said nothing, and just cried harder. Jounouchi glanced at the letter in her hand. He could faintly make out the words "HIV/AIDS" and "positive". He paled, and said again. "We'll be okay"_  
---

Jounouchi leaned on the side of the roof and stared off into the night sky. "But we weren't okay."

---  
'I'm sorry, Katsuya.' _he heard Miho's voice as he read the letter_. 'I can't live like this any more. Goodbye.'

_Jounouchi paled. "Miho!" he shouted. He threw the letter down and started running through her apartment. "Miho! Where are you?"_

_She wasn't anywhere in the main room. He turned into the small bedroom, and scanned it quickly. Nothing. Maybe she had gone somewhere else...? He turned, and was about to run out, when he saw the bathroom door, slightly ajar. His heart sped up as he gripped the handle and pushed it open._

_He stood in the entrance in shock for a few seconds, then fell heavily to his knees._

_"No... Miho!"_

_She was sprawled on the floor in front of him. A bloody knife was nestled in her pale, lifeless hand_.

---

"You were afraid," Jounouchi said quietly. "You didn't want to die that way, and you didn't want to watch me die that way. So you ended it on your own terms." He rolled back his sleeve, looked down at his own wrist, and again imagined himself cutting it the same way she had. Again, he became sickened at the thought, and tugged his sleeve back down.

"A song... that's all I want... one song... before I die."

-----

Ryou waved to the woman on the fire escape. She tossed a burning paper into the street, and waved back. He hitched up the bag on his shoulder and kept walking down the street. He had seen the eviction notices, and he hoped everything would work out for Mai. She'd finally gotten away from that jerk boyfriend, and the last thing she needed now was to be kicked out of her apartment.

Ryou was walking past an alley, when he heard something. It sounded like someone was in pain. He glanced at his watch. Ah well, he'd be late anyway, what was another few minutes? He peeked down the alley, and made out the vauge outline of a person against the darkness. They were lying on the ground, groaning in pain. Ryou quickly walked over to him.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, kneeling next to the man. He had dark features, possibly foreign, and unbelivebly distinctive hair.

"Yeah," he groaned. Not too foreign, then; he didn't have an accent.

"Did they take your money?" Ryou asked, while helping the man up. He tried to stand on his own, then reluctantly accepted Ryou's help.

"No, I didn't have any. They took my stuff, though. Oh hell, my medicine was in there! Chiksho!" he swore.

"Anything I can do to help?" Ryou asked. The man sighed in frustration, gazing down the dark end of the alley, where the muggers ran off. He had a vague idea to try and chase them, but it was too late. He turned and looked at Ryou next to him, offering him help.

"I don't suppose you have any AZT," the stranger said, chuckling, as they started to walk down the street together.

Ryou looked at him. "Actually..." he said. "I was on my way to a Life Support meeting. For people with AIDS."

He gasped softly. "You too?"

Ryou smiled, and nodded. Atem looked down awkwardly. They continued walking in silence for some time.

"I'm Atem," the man said eventually.

"Ryou," the other replied. "My friends call me Tenshi."

-----

A/N: No Vacancy--the band that Adam Pascal's character was in in the movie School of Rock. Couldn't remember Roger's band, sorry.  
Life Café--Real café from the musical/movie. Roger and April's relationship was told through a couple lines of Mark's, and some silent flashbacks in the movie. I don't know if they ever really went to the Life Café, but it would make sense. And it gives the rent-heads something to point at and go "I know what that is!"

As both Miho and Jou got AIDS, I hope that teaches you a lesson, but in case it doesn't, I DON'T CONDONE DRUGS. OR UNMARRIED SEX. Yes, I'm old-fashioned. XP A pox on you if you have a problem with that. I don't care if you do it, just know that I didn't tell you to.

Next chapter: "Light My Candle". Jou, still seeking solace, returns to the apartment. But his solitude is interrupted by an unexpected visitor--Mai.

Reviews tresured, concrit adored, flames mocked. But if you must flame, at least have the decency to log in.


	5. Light My Candle

A/N: Hey, look, I'm not dead! But I've turned into one of those evil writers that never updates. Gomenasai!!! I finally finished it for my Christmas fic. (RENT mostly takes place on Christmas after all)  
"Itai" is Japanese for "ow", and "kso" is a curse word. Some say it means "shit", but it's actually not that strong.

Beta-read by pyrocrazedgel.

Parings this chapter: Polar

Last Chapter: A year ago, Jou had something special with a girl named Miho, but it ended in tragedy when they both contracted AIDS, and she killed herself. Now Jou's time is running out. But before he goes, he wants to write one last song, and go out in a blaze of glory.  
Meanwhile, Ryou finds Atem lying in the alley, and helps him. But more on them later. Remember the woman from the fire escape? Oh wait, I already said it was Mai, didn't I? Anyway, she's baaack!

Rated T (maybe even T+) for suggestive dialogue and drug references.

"Would you light my candle? ...what are you staring at?"  
"Nothing. Your hair in the moonlight. You look familiar."  
--Mimi and Roger, "Light My Candle" by Jonathan Larson.

Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi owns Yugioh. Jonathan Larson, rest in peace, owns RENT. I am neither of them.

* * *

Jounouchi took one last look at the bright New York skyline before going back inside. He trudged down the steps, which were almost as cold as the freezing roof. Muttering curses at Kaiba, he shut himself back in the apartment.

Unseen by Jou, a young woman--the woman from the balcony--was standing in the shadows and watching as he went into the apartment. She stepped gracefully into the hallway, and raised a hand to knock at his door. Her hand hesitated. After a brief pause, she blew out the burning candle in her hand, and then pounded the door.

Jounouchi threw his coat off and was at the window when he heard the knock. Turning around, he crossed the room and undid the latch on the door, expecting to see the familiar face of his roommate.

"Back already--?" The words died when he instead saw the beautiful woman standing in the doorway. She had long blond hair, and stunning violet eyes. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

A beautiful woman.

In his doorway.

_What the HELL? _

"Expecting someone else?" she asked.

"Um..." Jou said, confused. He recognized her now, from the fire escape, but that still didn't explain anything. "Can I help you?"

"Would you light my candle?" she said innocently.

"Excuse me?!" Jou stammered.

She held up the candle.

"Oh," he said, rather relieved. "Yeah. Gimme a sec." Jounouchi turned around to grab a packet of matches off of the table. The door shut suddenly, making him jump. He spun around. The woman had entered the room, and was walking towards him. Jou snatched up the matches and started fumbling with them.

"Nice place," she said conversationally.

"Not for much longer, if Kaiba has his way," Jou replied, trying to seem calm. He struck the match and she held the candle out. In the small light, he noticed her shivering hands.

"You okay?" he asked after he had lit the candle. She noticed his gaze on her hands and pulled them back. If she didn't want him to see something, then she covered it well, replying, "Just cold. They turned the heat off, remember?"

"Yeah..." Jounouchi trailed off, watching her gaze out the window. She was still smiling. It made him think of Miho. The good days with Miho, before the drugs. After a few moments, the blond woman noticed him and turned to him.

"What?" she asked.

"Huh?

"You're staring."

Jou was embarrassed that he had spaced out. He fumbled for words. "Oh... sorry... you were smiling... and it just... reminded me..."

The woman smiled knowingly. "Girlfriend?"

Jounouchi shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah..."

"Didn't work out well?" she asked sympathetically. He shook his head.

"She died," he said in a hollow voice. The woman's face fell.

"Oh," she said, taken off-guard. "Sorry."

Jounouchi said nothing, and an extremely awkward silence followed. Jou fidgeted awkwardly, unsued to being in the company of a woman. He debated whether or not to continue the conversation, but his nervousness won out.

"Well, goodnight," he said, moving toward the door. She looked surprised, but followed him.

"Thanks for the light," she said, glancing at him. Jou blushed, but didn't change his mind. He opened the door, and she exited. Closing the door behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she knocked again.

Jou jumped and nearly yelled in surprise. He whirled around, and without thinking, opened the door again. By the time he thought to just ignore the knock, he was already staring at her. The thought just as quickly left his head as his mind went blank. She held out the candle again, but Jou didn't notice. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. They stood like that for several seconds before she waved the candle around a bit. Jou started, realizing that he had been staring.

"Got a light?" She spoke up to get his attention.

"Sorry," he said quickly. He looked down at the candle for the first time. "It went out again?"

She rolled her eyes. He blushed, and reached in his pocket for the matches. They weren't there. He glanced down at the floor to see if they fell out.

"Kso," he mumbled, turning back to the apartment. Where'd they go? He quickly walked back over to the table. Shoot, he should have told her to wait in the hall. _Please don't come in, please don't come in, please..._

The door slammed again and Jou winced. Shoot.

"Need some help?" she asked.

"No," he said quickly. "They're right..." his eyes fell on the empty table. "...here."

She leaned over his shoulder. Jou hadn't even heard her walk across the room. He turned and their eyes met. Instead of feeling awkward and nervous again, though, Jou felt something else... She wasn't a complete stranger. He recognized her... where...?

"You look familiar," Jou said without meaning to. She seemed pleased that he had managed to get a sentence out without blushing.

"You said that already," she replied, taking a few steps back.

"No..." he answered, turning around towards her. "Not Miho... I know you from somewhere else."

"Do you, now?" she said coyly, but he wasn't thrown by her this time. For whatever reason, knowing that she wasn't a stranger made him more relaxed. "Was it from the balcony, Romeo?"

"'Romeo'? Does that make you Juliet?" he teased.

"Me?" she scoffed. "Oh yeah, I just spend my days standing on the fire escape, waiting for my prince charming to come while his family wants to kill me."

"Hey, it's New York. There's plenty of single mafia guys out there. Or gangsters."

"So now you're saying I'm Maria?"

"Except we're on the East Side," Jou said, taking a step forward. Something crunched under his foot and he looked down. They found the matches. He scooped them up and went over to her.

"And if I remember correctly," the woman said as he lit the candle. "Juliet was in the east."

"The rising sun," Jou replied, his hands lingering over the candle as their eyes met again.

"Thanks, Romeo," she said softly, leaning towards him. They drifted closer.

"No problem..." Jou replied, pulling nearer to her. They were hardly inches apart. Jounouchi felt his heart beating wildly. What was he doing? He had half a mind to pull away when she suddenly jumped and let out a little yelp of pain.

"Itai!" She exclaimed.

"You okay?" he said quickly, both relieved and slightly disappointed that they had been interrupted.

"The wax dripped," she answered sourly. She took a hand off the candle and shook it. "Itai..."

"Anything I can do?" Jou asked.

"Nah," she said. "Guess I'd better go. Thanks for the light."

Jou nodded. She turned around and made it all the way to the door. Suddenly, she stopped, and checked her pockets. She whirled around, cursing.

"What?" Jou asked, surprised.

"I... dropped something," she said evasively, bending down to search the floor. He raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"Never mind that and help me look," She said.

"How am I supposed to look if I don't know what it is?" He replied. She looked up at him, and quickly put on another one of her seductive smiles.

"Oh, you just want to look from up there, is that it?" she said playfully. Jou looked confused.

"Wha...?"

"They say I have the best ass below 14th street. Is it true? You're staring again."

Jou's face reddened more than it had all night. "Oh no..." he stammered. "I didn't meant to... I mean... you do... have a nice... uh..." He quickly got down on the floor so it didn't look like he was staring anymore and changed the subject. "You look familar!"

She sighed. "You ever been to the Cat's Eye?"

"The club?" he said, surprised.

"Yeah," she said turning away from him and continuing to search the floor. "I'm a dancer there."

"Yes!" he exclaimed. He had indeed been the club before, though it was more than a year ago. "I remember now! Wow, you've been working there a while... they still tie you up?"

"Yeah, well," she answered. "Gotta pay the rent.

"No wonder I didn't recognize you. No handcuffs," he laughed. As embarrassing as it was to be rememebered for handcuffs at a night club, she couldn't help but laugh with him.

"So what're we looking for?" he said after the laughter subsided.

"My stash," she said simply. He looked up sharply.

"Your what...?"

"Stash," she repeated. "Heroin. See it yet?"

"What are you..." Jou sat down and stopped looking. That explained her shaking hands. "Why?"

"What's the problem?"

"You... you shouldn't be using that stuff," Jounouchi said shakily, thinking of himself and Miho.

"Says you," she said, sticking her tongue out at him, and resuming her search. Jou watched for a few seconds, then spotted something on the ground by her foot. He snatched it up. She whirled around at his sudden movement, just in time to see him hide it behind his back.

"What was that?" she said.

"Uh... candy bar wrapper," he lied. With his free hand he pointed, and changed the subject. "Hey, your candle's out."

She inched towards him, and he quickly stood up, slipping the small packet of powder into his back pocket. He held out his hands innocently. She eyed him suspiciously. Grinning sheepishly, Jou reached for a match. She stood up with him and tried to circle behind him. He turned with her, and they wound up face-to-face. Ignoring her attempts to get the heroin back, he struck a match and offered it. Reluctantly, she held out the candle.

"There," he said when it was lit. "That's all you wanted, right?"

"My--" she started to say, but he cut her off.

"I'll let you know if I find it," he lied again, and tried to steer her towards the door. She blew the candle out when he wasn't looking.

"Oops, it's out again," she said. Without even bothering to hide it from her, Jounouchi threw the pack of matches over his shoulder.

"That was my last match," he said. "And it's so dark in here; we'll never find it..."

"Oh, no it's not," she said quickly, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the windo. "Look at the moon." Jou sat down on the couch before she could reach for his pocket.

"That's not the moon," he replied, pretending to be annoyed. "Chris Columbus is shooting down the street."

"Oh, don't be like that," she said. "It's Christmas!"

"Bah Humbug," he answered, taking a leaf from her book and sticking his tongue out.

"I know!" she said quickly, pulling him back to his feet. "Let's dance, Romeo."

"Uh..." he stammered as she moved closer. His mind went blank again when she took his hand. "I'm Jounouchi, by the way," he stammered, sticking his hand out in front of her, forcing her to stay back. "Jounouchi Katsuya."

She rolled her eyes at his obvious attempt to keep her away. Reluctantly, she shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you," she said. Then, suddenly, she raised his hand up, slipped under his arm, and reached into his back pocket.

"I'm Mai," she said triumphantly, waving the bag in his face. "Kujaku Mai."

And without another word, she crossed the room and left.

* * *

A/N: The whole Romeo thing was a reference to the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet. I believe the line is something like, "A light in yonder window breaks! It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." Then they switch to West Side Story, which is based on Romeo and Juliet, only with gangs instead of feuding families. Maria is the West Side Story equivalent of Juliet. (That's also my favorite musical. RENT's a close second.)

"They say I have the best ass..." and "I mean you do... have a nice... I mean..." were straight from the song. I couldn't help it. I can't make up good stuff like that.

Chris Columbus is the guy that directed the movie version of Rent, not the guy who sailed the ocean blue.

Next chapter: "Today 4 U". Atem finally shows up, and Jou and Yugi get to meet Bakura. Meanwhile, Anzu's having trouble with the protest and needs Yugi's help.


End file.
